[vsbabu]

I've a 2012 model A-Star AT. Has completed some 35K kms; love it. Very convenient in the Bangalore traffic (I've a 3 hour commute every day at 10kmph average speed); Back seat is not that bad, but driver seat is very comfortable. Especially the under thigh support (I actually like this better than my Innova's driver seat); broken road behavior is good with good ground clearance; and I consistently get 13kmpl; once a year visit to service center. Been thinking of upgrading to VW or Figo DCT or Jazz CVT; but this is fun enough to drive not to waste money on those.

I've done several trips to Pondicherry and back as well - quite planted on highways. Bootspace is small, but enough for small family for a 2 day trip (ie., 2 bags ).

Only thing I dislike about it is that my knee points upward a bit and hits the steering (too big) - in city I don't keep the front seat all the way back. If I raise the seat height or put a cushion, then the head brushes against the roof.

[Waspune]

My vote goes to the A-Star. We had one in the family and it was the cheapest FTD car available in market. The steering, stability, handling was far ahead of i10 and even cars from upper segments. It didnt score well on practicality though, as it has an almost unusable boot and the rear seat doesnt have good space on offer. The front seats were great though. I still miss our A-Star which we had to forgo to make way for my Punto. And yes, ABS on the AT variant is like the cherry on the cake.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

2) Fun - Apart from that giant steering wheel, which is also set up a little too high, the car is bucket loads of fun.

Originally Posted by vsbabu

Only thing I dislike about it is that my knee points upward a bit and hits the steering (too big) - in city I don't keep the front seat all the way back. If I raise the seat height or put a cushion, then the head brushes against the roof.

What big/giant steering? Isn't it the normal Maruti steering that you see in Wagon R/Ritz/1st gen Swift? I'm 6 feet 1 inches and I have no unwanted contact with the steering wheel. And yes, front seats are set all the way back when I'm driving.

Originally Posted by fine69

Why is Celerio AMT not part of this list?
While I have the ZXi (O) AMT, I'm certain that one can get VXi AMT within 4 lakhs easily.

Poor availability and price. After all, both Celerio and Alto K10 AMTs are new cars. Among the cars discussed, the following AT cars are available for sale (all India) on Carwale.com with an asking price between Rs. 2 and 4 Lacs -

Hyundai i10 AT -> 86 cars
Honda Civic AT -> 70 cars
Honda City AT -> 36 cars
Toyota Corolla AT -> 29 Cars
Maruti A-Star AT -> 17 Cars
Hyundai Santro AT -> 14 Cars
Maruti Alto K10 AMT -> 3 Cars
Maruti Celerio AT -> 2 Cars
Tata Nano AMT -> 1 Car

Also, when you are looking at cars close to Rs. 4 Lacs, you are moving away from the benchmark Tata Nano AMT price.

[Waspune]

Originally Posted by NiXTriX2004

How about a GT TSI for 4-5 lakhs in 3 or 4 years? Sounds good to me.

I dont think you will find a TSI for less than 6 lacs. Also, even if you get hold of one, its extended warranty would be getting over soon after which one would require courage to trust the DSG

[wilful]

Purely for city use, I would go in for the Nano - with the pros of having a new car. A couple of my relatives - in Hyderabad & Calicut have the XTA and they find it decent enough for town use.

[avisidhu]

A 3 odd years Brio should be a strong contender unless resale is high, which I doubt. Also, what about Micra CVT ? Both of these are superior to the entry level hatchbacks and better transmission too.

And pretty certain FE/maintenance should be reasonable for both.

Originally Posted by NiXTriX2004

...
How about a GT TSI for 4-5 lakhs in 3 or 4 years? Sounds good to me.

Why not. But make sure the budget planned is as much as the new one in case things don't go as expected
I was looking for a hatch for dad few years back, came across a 2K run 3 month old GT TSI with almost 3L discount. Can't explain how tough it was not to make that phone call

[NiXTriX2004]

Originally Posted by Waspune

I dont think you will find a TSI for less than 6 lacs. Also, even if you get hold of one, its extended warranty would be getting over soon after which one would require courage to trust the DSG

I was talking about a 3 or 4 more years from now. I think it will be possible to get a GT TSI in the 4-5 lakhs range. Or else, there always the Figo DCT.

If the DSG fails then you have a nice project car for MT conversion with the Turbo already in place.

[greenhorn]

a star here is a no brainer.
A 3 year old maruti is still more reliable than a brand new tata (especially a newly launched product! )

i think the battle would be a bit more even a few years down the line once the nano amt gets all the product fixes it should have had when it was launched, and the massive tata depreciation kicks in (reliability will still be an unknown, but it was always like that!)

[carwatcher]

We have an A-Star A/T for my better half since last 2.5 years and it's a very good choice. But saying that it is well built I beg to differ. It's a tin can of a car as other Marutis. Slightest of touch leaves dents on doors and I got them repaired and repainted thrice.

At the same time I still like the Fun-to-Drive factor of this car and still feel lucky to have bought this car over i10 as I really used to make fun of the weird design and ugly rear bumper of this car and had never thought even in my wildest dreams that I would end up buying it.

Few things I strongly miss in this car are a Tachometer like Celerio and rear wiper.

P.S. - I would strongly suggest to go for A/T over AMT if you get an option.

[GKMahajan]

I am curious.
As of now the votes are as follows:

Pre-owned Hyundai i10 AT - 15 - 23.44%
Pre-owned Maruti A-Star AT - 19 - 29.69%
New Tata Nano AMT - 23 - 35.94%
NOTA :-) - 7 - 10.94%

So the leader here is Nano! And still no one has commented favorably for it!

My family has been considering a bike for the college going daughter. One alternative being considered is a small automatic car. Everyone seems to be in favor of Nano! The reasons, of course, vary! One of our neighbors is working for Tata Motors. He has just bought a Zest AMT for his wife. His wife is not able to stop praising it. I have yet to take a test drive of that car. It is XTA. I have driven the XTM Zest and liked it.

I just might change my opinions after I TD a Nano AMT! But, until further notice, due to its very small size, rick like turning radius and comfortable space inside, I have voted for Nano. PLUS the tension free warranty of a new car is definitely desired!

Regards,

Girish Mahajan

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by carwatcher

But saying that it is well built I beg to differ. It's as tin can of a car as other Marutis. Slightest of touch leaves dents on doors and I got them repaired and repainted thrice.

The body panels are very light, yes. What I meant to say is that interiors are well screwed together. No rattles in a 5 year old 41,000 km Maruti. After reading about rattles in Marutis (and our own experience with an old Alto Lxi - now sold), I was expecting some trouble on this front.

Originally Posted by GKMahajan

So the leader here is Nano! And still no one has commented favorably for it! My family has been considering a bike for the college going daughter. One alternative being considered is a small automatic car.

Forget bike, go for the Nano. It is a million times safer than a bike. It is so tiny that you can use it for small errands too. It makes for a great bike replacement/second car. Another + point for the Nano is that it is equipped with bluetooth and stereo that plays music from USB stick. Old i10s and A-star doesn't have this feature.

[KarthikRaj]

Dear BHPians,

I would definitely go for the A star owing to the Maruti after sales service. Most of the time when some one is looking for a budget automatic, it would be his/her first car or the second one in the garage for a family member. I would stay away from TATA considering this.

i10 auto is a good hatch with unbelievably low Average. I have heard my colleagues having to shell out loads of money on fuel.

However, I have seen that the resale price for A star in Hyderabad is really high..I saw an ad in OLX today - A Star Auto ( 15K in the odo) with ABS 2013 model for a whopping 4.30 lacs!!!

Cheers,
Karthik

[silverado]

Nano has more space than A star, and is as spacious as i10.
If the usage is strictly within city, Nano makes a strong case.

Even used Nano AMT could be an option here.( But very hard to find )
Again don't forget, Nano comes with a standard 4 year company warranty which is a big advantage.

[IshaanIan]

A-Star for me for the following reasons:

1. Most fun to drive out of the three
2. easiest to maintain
3. surprisingly the safest and best built IMO out of the three
4. Excellent front seats

I feel another point ought to be added to the disadvantages list of the Nano; simply not as car-like as the rest.

There are many people out there who simply would not consider a Nano whether it comes with Twist (power steering) or bluetooth or whatever. I had the good fortune of having a Nano and experiencing it for a couple of days a while back and found that it simply could not gain enough speed for my liking, perpetually sounded terrible on the inside, wheels were so tiny that I had a bent rim over an undulation that every car I have driven before would have simply shrugged off, had the misfortune of having to change a tyre and found out that nearly everything from the taking out and putting back the toolkit to the wheels to the jack was all just unnecessarily too quirky (cost-cutting reasons?) and ended up pissing me off having to figure all that out in an annoyed state in the middle of a hot dusty afternoon and just driving the thing (sitting in those seats, holding that steering wheel, working the gear stick and the indicator stalks) felt very unsubstantial in every way. People love its small footprint but the car has a lot more blind-spots than I expected as well. Overall I'd say it is a severe compromise no matter how much space or features it comes with, compared to any other car available in the market.

[anand.shankar]

Voted for the Nano XTA, heard its available now @ 3L on road. If its purely city use, then Nano is the best bet.

You have already listed the pros & cons, just adding a couple of points..

Pros :
Smallest footprint! the way our cities are getting snarly, I better be driving the smallest contraption on the road.
You can buy a New car, no worrying about previous ownership, esp the Hyundais tend to have pretty hefty Svc bills in case it needs a visit.